Daily Archive: January 2, 2008

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – The majority of suburban rail
services around Budapest resumed operation on Wednesday afternoon
following cancellations caused by Tuesday’s heavy snowfall and
resulting frozen switches, a spokesperson for Hungarian railways MAV
said. If weather conditions do not deteriorate, then all services will
be back to normal by Thursday, the MAV spokesperson said. Main opposition Fidesz party spokesman Peter Szijjarto
criticised MAV for what he called “chaotic conditions” on Wednesday.
Szijjarto demanded that the government order an immediate
investigation at MAV and identify the responsible people.

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – The positive effects of the
government’s programme to streamline spending will start to become
visible to the general public by mid-2008, Finance Minister Janos
Veres told MTI in an interview on Wednesday. Trust in the government’s reforms is expected to increase as
real wages start to rise again as of mid-year, Veres said, adding
that the government may see an improvement in its popularity
ratings, currently at rock-bottom, as a result. He rejected claims that the government plans to increase
administrative spending in 2008. On the contrary, payroll and
administrative costs will be lower, Veres said.

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Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – A consortium of Rail Cargo Austria
and Austrian-owned GYSEV railway in NW Hungary signed a contract on
Wednesday to purchase Hungarian rail transport company MAV Cargo,
MAV chairman Miklos Kamaras told MTI. The purchase price was 102.5 billion forints (405.14 million
euros) and a commitment to invest 43.5 billion forints (171.94
million euros) into the company within the next five years. Ferdinand Schmid, director of Austrian railway OEBB’s Rail Cargo
Austria subsidiary, told the AP wire service that the acquisition
had “great strategic importance for the Austrian railway”.

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – Nearly 27,000 students from
disadvantaged backgrounds have received scholarships as part of the
government’s Utravalo (For the Road) scheme since 2005, an education
ministry official said in Budapest on Tuesday. In the 2007/2008 academic year, as many as 11,000 new
scholarships were granted to underprivileged students, along with
financial assistance to the teachers who have been working with
them. The total budget of this year’s programme was 2 billion
forints (about 8 million euros).

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – The Budapest Stock Exchange’s BUX
index closed trading at 25,889.94 points on Wednesday, down by
345.69 points or 0.76 percent compared to the last day of trading
before the New Year.Overall trading amounted to 15.91 billion forints (about 63.1
million euros).

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgar
continues to lead the women’s world rankings, finishing at the top
of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) list for the 30th time. With 2707 Elo points, Polgar is placed 22nd in the men’s global
rankings. She is the first woman to surpass the 2,700-point mark,
the lower limit for the category of men’s super grandmasters. Polgar has been the world’s top female chess player since 1988.

Dr Andrej Bajuk, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, welcomes Cyprus and Malta into the euro zone on 1 January 2008 and on this occasion underlines: “The euro brings numerous advantages in the business sector since it abolishes unnecessary costs and increases competitiveness. This encourages trade, resulting in the creation of new jobs in Europe. In my opinion, it is only through adoption of a single currency that the opportunities offered by a single European market can be utilised to the full.”

On New Year’s Day, the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League played in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, an outdoor game held at Orchard Park, New York’s Ralph Wilson Stadium. This was the second outdoor game in league history and the first outdoor game held in the United States. The Penguins won the game 2 to 1 after a shootout in which Sidney Crosby made a goal between the legs of goalie Ryan Miller to win it. Colby Armstrong of the Penguins scored 21 seconds into the game, and Brian Campbell scored the lone goal for the Sabres in the 2nd period.

Budapest, January 2 (MTI) – Hungary’s gross budget debt,
calculated according to EU methodology, stood at 16,428 billion
forints at the end of September, equal to 65.9 percent of GDP, the
National Bank of Hungary (NBH) said in its financial accounts report
for the third quarter on Wednesday. The net financing requirement of Hungary’s general government
deficit was 6.1 percent of GDP in the twelve months to the end of
September. In the third quarter, the financing requirement was 149 billion,
equal to 2.3 percent of GDP during the period, down from 3.6 percent
in the second quarter.